Recently, photographic processing of color photographic materials has involved reducing the processing time to shorten the time for delivery of finished photo prints and have involved reducing the labor of photo laboratories. One method of shortening the time of the respective processing steps involves elevating the processing temperature in each step in general. In addition, other various methods of enhancing stirring of the processing solutions and adding various promoters to the processing bathes have been proposed.
Above all, to promote color development and/or reduce the amount of replenisher to be added in the development step, it is known to process a color photographic material containing a silver chloride emulsion, in place of a silver bromide emulsion or silver iodide emulsion which has heretofore been widely used. For instance, International Patent Laid-Open Application WO87-04534 describes a method of processing a silver halide color photographic material having a high silver chloride content or a so-called high silver chloride color photographic material with a color developer substantially containing neither sulfite ion nor benzyl alcohol.
However, it has been found that development of this type of material with an automatic color paper developing machine in accordance with the above-described method causes fluctuation of the photographic properties (especially, the minimum density) of the processed material and noticeable stain in the white background of the processed material.
Rapid development of a high silver chloride color photographic material thus involves a serious problem of fluctuation of the photographic properties of the processed material, and solution of the problem has been desired strongly.
One method of processing a high silver chloride color photographic material by rapid continuous processing with reducing fluctuation of the photographic properties (especially, fog) of the processed material involves use of an organic anti-foggant as disclosed in JP-A-58-95345 and 59-232342. (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application".) However, the anti-fogging effect of the organic anti-foggant has been found to be insufficient so that use of the agent does not fully prevent an increase in the minimum density of the processed material using continuous processing. If a large amount of the agent is used in this method, it has further been found that such a large amount of the agent rather causes a decrease in the maximum density of the processed material.
JP-A-61-70552 discloses a method of processing a high silver chloride color photographic material by adding a replenisher to the developer in such an amount that the added replenisher does not cause overflow from the developer bath for the purpose of reducing the amount of the replenisher added in the method. JP-A-63-106655 discloses a method of developing a silver halide color photographic material having high silver chloride emulsion layer(s) with a color developer containing a hydroxylamine compound and a chloride, with the concentration of the chloride being more than a determined one, where the object is stabilizing the processing procedure.
However, it has been found that both of these prior art methods still result in fluctuation of the photographic properties of the processed material in continuous processing with an automatic developing machine. Anyway, the methods could not overcome the above-mentioned problem.
JP-A-2-96149 illustrates a continuous processing technique capable of noticeably decreasing the fluctuation in the minimum density of a processed silver halide photographic material in which a particular pentamethine cyanine dye is added to the material as a sensitizing dye and the chloride ion concentration and the bromide ion concentration in the color developer used are specifically defined. JP-A-2-96148 also illustrates another continuous processing technique for noticeably decreasing the fluctuation in the minimum density of a processed silver halide photographic material in which the silver bromide content in the silver halide emulsion of the material is specifically defined and the chloride ion concentration and the bromide ion concentration in the color developer used are specifically defined.
With this background, the present inventors conducted further investigations in this area and, as a result, they have found that the above-described techniques could be effectively used to noticeably decrease fluctuation in the minimum density of the processed photographic materials in continuous processing but they are not always sufficient to prevent fluctuation of the sensitivity and gradation of the processed photographic materials in continuous processing.